The Secrets of Kotoko
by CloudCuckooLandHasAQueen
Summary: Thinking she was free of her ancestral duties, Kotoko has lived a carefree life. That is until her powers abruptly appear and she's taken into the world of witches and sorceresses, and charged with the daunting duty of protecting Earth.
1. Prologue

**This is just a random idea I had after reading Itazura na Kiss, watching some magical girl shows, and American Horror Story in a short period of time. I like the idea of there being more to Kotoko than her endless devotion to Naoki but I really have no clue where this idea came from. For now, this is a one shot, but depending on demand and time, I can continue it.**

Kotoko was upset by Irie-kun again when she felt it.

It was a little flicker of power, more than she thought herself capable of, one that had a ripple effect into the physical world, throwing a book against the wall. In that moment, she realized she inherited her mother's gift after all. All her life, she lived in blissful silliness, following around Irie-kun in a blind haze, but that was all slowed to a sudden and decisive halt. She forgot she was angry at him. For a moment, she forgot she even loved him. Kotoko only thought about the fact that she would soon be summoned.

What would she tell the council? That she assumed she was passed over and decided to live a life of indulging her every impulse? That her studies of the ancient texts had been second to her love? That they were only theoretical? None seemed particularly convincing.

She jumped at the knock on her door. Shaking her head and patting her cheeks to wake up, she marched over to it, intent on looking mad instead of scared.

Irie-kun stood at the door, his face completely impassive "Dinner."

Kotoko sighed dramatically and brushed past him.

Oba-sama smiled and shrilly asked how Kotoko was. "And honey, did you drop something? I heard a huge thump against the wall."

"Oh it was a book." Kotoko answered honestly.

"Oh well, you should be more careful, wouldn't you agree, Naoki?"

Irie-kun didn't bother to look up, instead continuing to eat at the same pace.

Kotoko didn't have much of an appetite. She was still waiting for the summoning. She knew her happy and idle life was about to change.

Kotoko walked upstairs, and instead of preparing to study and go to bed, she dressed nicely and brushed her hair out, looking very much like a grown up. It wouldn't do to show up wearing bright pink and with her hair in braids. She even put on makeup before she felt the presence behind her.

"Hello, Fujimoto-kun," she said to the messenger.

She turned around and he was as he remembered: a handsome man in a suit and tie, with a pair of glasses that were sliding down his nose.

"You were the last person we expected to be a late bloomer."

"Thanks," Kotoko said sullenly, "is it time for me to go?"

Kotoko reached out and touched his hand. Immediately, her surroundings changed to an old styled room, with mats to sit on before short tables. Each seat was taken by one of the sorceresses, except the one in the middle, where she would be scrutinized. The Divine Sorceress sat in the middle, her silk robes covered in flowers and her long dark hair flowing over her shoulders.

"Aihara, Kotoko, it is to our understanding that you've developed the power your mother held before you, and your grandmother before her?"

"Yes." Kotoko squeaked.

"Welcome to the Japanese Branch of the Coven."

Kotoko squirmed under the scrutiny. She wanted to be back home but things wouldn't be the same. For the first time in her life, she knew she would have to be quiet and secretive, like she did when she read the coven's texts. She also knew that it would be her duty to protect humanity against all that wanted to destroy it. Her life as the dumb but cheerful Kotoko ended so abruptly that she didn't know what to think. She couldn't be carefree anymore.

 _She couldn't afford to chase Irie-kun anymore._


	2. The Spirit

**Official Chapter 2, guys! I can't guarantee updates this fast all the time.**

Kotoko went to class as intended, but she found that she couldn't concentrate—even more than usual. The council wasn't nearly as frightening as she remembered, but the unease she felt remained. The previous night, she practiced shifting books and even accidentally set one on fire. She hated that Korean textbook anyway. Kotoko looked up at the board and realized that she had no idea what was going on. Numb, she stood up in a jerking fashion and left, wandering towards her usual lunch spot with Satomi and Jinko.

Satomi waved in front of her several times before Kotoko woke up enough to realize it.

"What?"

"Were you really not listening to a thing I said? What did Irie-kun do now?"

"Oh. He didn't do anything." Kotoko smiled what she hoped was a big, bright, beaming smile. "In fact, I think I'm going to go see him now!"

She texted Irie-kun in front of them for good measure, though she knew he wouldn't text back. A lot of things had become clear literally overnight. Irie-kun only texted when it was absolutely necessary and couldn't possibly be avoided. Before, it never bothered her. Now, she was trying not to think about it. Thinking always bothered her enough anyway. She never exerted her brain much because when the thinking occurred, thoughts followed, and she would begin to second guess the way she lived her life up to that point.

Kotoko shook it off and wandered off. She wanted to see Irie-kun.

She was halfway to the economics building when she sensed it. It felt like a pulse of power, coming from someone else. Kotoko could sense things too? Grandma didn't have that. She giggled. It was her own special thing. It took her a moment to remember that there was some purpose to her sensing something out of the ordinary. When she did, the pulse was growing faint and almost gone. Without thinking about it, Kotoko followed it, walking a little faster so that she could feel the pulse get stronger again.

She was walking towards the law building, which was a strange place. She never had any reason to go there before. She looked around, feeling as if she woke up from a dream when she felt the pulse, it almost hurt, making it's way into her head and chest like extremely loud music and then—oomf

A boy ran into Kotoko, nearly knocking her over. She looked up at him, finding him quite handsome (not as handsome as Irie-kun, but close) but that wasn't what captured her attention. On his back was a spirit, a girl with long black hair clinging to him with pale arms wrapped around him and her hands clasped over her chest. The boy didn't seem to notice it, aside from the fact that he was shivering slightly.

"Oh, hello!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hi!" Kotoko said too loudly. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you."

"It's all right! I wasn't paying attention either, Miss Aihara."

"You know who I am?"

He coughed, blushing. The spirit looked at her with dark and cruel eyes. Kotoko nearly screamed but barely held it in.

"I'm Takendo Nakagawa. I'm—I study law."

"Oh." That still didn't explain how he knew her name.

"Would you go out with me?"

The spirit let out a long wailing shriek. "I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME! I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME! SAY NO! I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME—YOU'LL PAY IF YOU DO."

"I'm sorry, I—"

"Sorry, it's just that I've seen you for a long time—and—"

"Well, the thing is—"

"I know you like Naoki Irie."

"Then why—"

"Well I feel like we bumped into each other for a reason."

The spirit was seething. Kotoko took a deep shuddering breath. She supposed she would have to take the spirit off his back. Grandma said when spirits did that, they slowly drained the life of the human they've attached to. Kotoko figured she would have to remember a lot more, since she finally received the gift and was recognized by the council. Part of the deal was helping humanity, even if it was by taking a spirit off of a college student's back.

"I—well, I will."

"Really? That's great! We should go on a date then, how about the amusement park?"

"Sure!" Kotoko barely squeaked. The spirit was still screeching.

Now, if only Kotoko remembered how to perform an exorcism.

* * *

Naoki looked down at his phone to find a text from Kotoko. The idiot had sent him a text telling him she was going to find him at his building. He sighed, resigning to the fact that his day was going to be disrupted a little earlier than usual. He was anticipating having to wait for tennis club, but he supposed Kotoko's irritating presence could be welcomed a little earlier than schedule. Only, she didn't come. No one mentioned seeing his stalker anywhere near the economics building.

He had gotten so used to her that her absence was slightly….

No. It was peaceful. Her absence made things peaceful. So why was he still waiting for her to jump out at him, her bright smile usually followed by some irritatingly stupid suggestion? She was so annoying. Time inched by and soon it was time to go to tennis. He didn't even know if he liked tennis all that much but he was good at it, so he always did what he was good at. He wouldn't ask her why she didn't come, but he wanted to.

"I'm afraid Aihara can't come today. She texted me saying she wasn't feeling well." Sudou informed him at practice, even though Naoki wasn't seeking out that information.

Kotoko never missed a single practice. The idiot wasn't any good at tennis, but she sure as hell tried her best. He found that more admirable than laughable, but he wasn't going to share that with her. The moment he said something somewhat complimentary, she took it and ran. He pulled out his phone, ready to send a text when he decided he didn't want to. Surely, she would be quick to explain herself. He just hoped she wasn't getting too sick. Because he didn't want to get infected, of course.

After exchanging numbers with Takendo, Kotoko distanced herself until she couldn't feel the spirit's presence anymore. She took a train, then had to take a bus to where her grandmother was kept. She was cremated and put in one of the many cases, her name on the urn and her picture in front. Kotoko clasped her hands in prayer before opening the case. For one terrible moment, she thought she would drop the urn as she removed it from its pedestal. She carefully placed it on the ground and opened the sliding top of the pedestal itself. Kotoko pulled the book out and placed it in her bag, before arranging everything as it was before.

On the bus, Kotoko sat in the corner and began to read.

Witches and sorceresses had a lot of trouble reading anything other than the Old Script. They attributed it to dyslexia most of the time, though Kotoko never got tested. They just thought she was stupid, therefore she was stupid. She hadn't read in Old Script in years though, making it slightly difficult to get through, though by the time she was on the train again, the words were able to slip into her head so easily that she felt smart, truly smart.

If the spirit didn't want to go, which seemed very likely, Kotoko learned that it would take thirteen nights to banish her. She supposed that meant thirteen days of dating Takendo.

"Well," she thought, "he seems nice enough so it shouldn't be too bad."

But what will Irie-kun think? Wouldn't he get jealous? Or would he think she was trying to make him jealous? She supposed that could take care of two birds with one stone. Or maybe, just maybe, she could like Takendo. But all that thought was silly when he had a spirit on his back.

* * *

When Kotoko got home, everyone was waiting for her in the living room. Even Naoki was there, though he looked bored and like he didn't want to bother with it all.

"What's going on—?"

"Where have you been? We were so worried about you!" Noriko exclaimed.

"But—" Kotoko realized just how late it was when she finally returned. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again. I'll text next time."

"Where were you?" Yuki asked flatly. "Not that I care."

"I was visiting Grandma."

"Oh dear, why didn't you say? I would have gone with you." Father told her.

Kotoko bowed her head. "I'm so sorry for worrying you all!"

She quickly ate the dinner they left her and ran up the stairs to her room, only to be blocked by Irie-kun.

"Irie-kun—"

"You're hiding something." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Kotoko smiled. "No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"I don't want to argue with you."

"Then stop." Kotoko said abruptly.

Irie-kun's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. He was taken aback by her statement. Kotoko brushed past him, for once feeling like she had won. Once she was inside, she laid out candles and lit the incense she collected at the store. It was practice for the first night. Somehow, she would have to get Takendo to spend time with her after dark and come up with a justifiable reason to go out thirteen nights in a row.

Ugh. She hated all this thinking.


	3. Night One

**Sorry about the huge wait everyone! College got in the way big time!**

Night One

Kotoko took a deep breath and placed her hands together in a brief prayer, thinking of her mother and her grandmother. She would need their strength for the next thirteen nights. Takendo recommended that they go out for coffee. It was a nice, brightly lit activity though and Kotoko had no clue how she would manage to stretch the conversation until nightfall.

It turns out, she didn't need to be concerned.

"—So anyway, that's how I know Nina, isn't that a funny story?"

Kotoko giggled. She hadn't had to say hardly anything for a good hour and a half, as Takendo was very apt at talking about himself. She didn't think it was in a bad way either. Takendo had a great way of carrying himself that didn't make anything he said sound egotistical. It was clear that he knew how to direct attention. Kotoko kept looking out the window and checking the time as the sun slowly sank into the horizon.

"Let's go to the park!" she exclaimed out of nowhere.

"Uh okay!" Takendo replied.

Kotoko stood up abruptly and went over to pay for her coffee, nearly tripping over herself to make it before Takendo had a chance to. She really felt uncomfortable with the idea of him really thinking they were dating, when she really just wanted to get the spirit off his back.

Speaking of the spirit, up to this point she had been oddly quiet, simply gripping Takendo so tightly that Kotoko thought he might explode. But upon them getting up, the spirit started shrieking uncontrollably, calling Kotoko all sorts of wicked things. She could hardly hear Takendo continue to talk about the various clubs he was in because of all the ruckus.

"I've never been to the park at night before. Is it even allowed?"

"No, but it's fun!" Kotoko suddenly felt very nervous. What if she messed up?

She spent the entire night before studying the spell and studied it instead of paying attention in her classes that day. She had to succeed. She had no choice. Otherwise, this thing on his back would take his very life force. He would grow sick and die. Kotoko hated the thought of someone dying because she wasn't good enough. She had to be good enough. Even if she wasn't the smartest girl in the world or the most powerful witch, she had to succeed.

Takendo sat in one of the swings while Kotoko took her book out of her bag and flipped it to the right page. It was difficult to reconcile the peaceful scene that Takendo thought was occurring with the shrieking, noise, and panic that Kotoko was experiencing. Quickly, Kotoko whispered the words and lit a match.

"What are you doing?" Takendo asked.

"Uhmhmmmm." Kotoko didn't have a good reply ready. She hadn't thought farther than that but it was too late to go back.

She blew out the match and whispered the final words, watching the spirit take the blow.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?"

"You're already dead," Kotoko muttered.

"What?" Takendo asked.

"Nothing." Kotoko laughed, "I wanna swing too!"

When Kotoko got home, Naoki was waiting for her.

"Where were you?"

"Out with Takendo."

"This late?"

"We went to the park and lost track of time." Kotoko sighed, "I'm tired now and still have homework to do—"

"Are you trying to make me jealous?"

"No."

"Then why are you going out with him?"

Kotoko shrugged, "I like him."

She didn't like the thought of her dear Irie-kun thinking she had feelings for someone else, but didn't have a better explanation for the evening or evenings to come. It made her feel sick and even a little wicked.


	4. Night Two

Hello! Sorry for the delay everyone! Life gets super crazy sometimes.

Night Two

Kotoko suggested the movies next. The idea of being in that dark movie theater with that creature on Takendo's back terrified her, but it seemed like a reasonable enough date idea.

"Don't you need to work on studying-"

"Nope!" Kotoko exclaimed cheerfully, even though she did in fact really need to work on her studies.

This was more important though. Takendo looked pale and a little weak. She refrained from asking him if he was sick and she was really starting to get tired of the ghost shrieking at her like a lunatic. Kotoko smiled nonetheless, and walked into the theater with Takendo. When the lights went down, she could see the glow of the spirit and she shuddered.

"Are you cold?" Takendo asked.

"I'm fine!"

"Okay-"

The second step was to get Takendo to eat a special root. She had the idea to grate it into a powder and dump it on the popcorn, careful not to use it herself. He inhaled the popcorn and with each bite, the spirit glowed less and less. Kotoko smiled and turned to face the screen. She felt Takendo shyly take her hand in his. She didn't know if she should pull away or not. There were still eleven steps to go.

"I loved it!" Takendo practically shouted, "The cinematography was amazing!"

Kotoko had no idea what that word meant but she nodded along with him and beamed up at him, "I liked it too!"

"This was a great suggestion, I had a lot of fun."

"Me too!" Kotoko realized she wasn't lying. Takendo was actually a lot of fun to be around, sans the spirit on his back. In another world, maybe she would drool all over him. For a moment, it felt like she was in that other would when he took her hand again.

"I like you a lot, Kotoko."

Kotoko smiled shyly, looking down at her feet. She didn't want to lie to him, but was it a lie? She liked him, just not in that way-or did she? She wasn't so sure anymore and that was more terrifying than the spirit.

"I-"

"You don't have to say anything you're not ready to say." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek in front of her house.

Kotoko's breath caught in her throat. She would've smacked anyone else that dared make such a move on her except-

"What are you doing standing out here?" Irie-kun opened the door.

"Irie-kun!" Kotoko squeaked.

"Well?"

Takendo smiled, "I was just wishing her a good night."

With that, he let go of her hand and walked back down the steps. Kotoko turned towards Irie-kun, not quite able to make eye contact with him.

"I must admit, you two are very convincing."

"Irie-kun-"

He walked back into the house, leaving the door open and expecting her to follow. Kotoko had little choice in the matter so she did exactly that.

Naoki was starting to think that Kotoko wasn't trying to make him jealous. When he looked out the window and saw Takendo lean over and kiss her cheek, he felt something. Something bad and unexpected. Something he needed to push down right away. He slept fitfully that night and in the morning Kotoko was just as annoyingly cheerful as ever.

"Tell me about this Takendo-" his mother implored, hoping to throw it in Naoki's face and make him realize the error of his ways or whatever she hoped to accomplish.

"Well, he's very smart and nice and studies law. I'm trying to get to know him better."

"You're sure spending a lot of time together."

"Yeah, tonight he's going to help me with my English."

"Couldn't Naoki help you?"

Naoki looked up, at his mother and rolled his eyes.

"Takendo is more of an expert. He lived in the US for a while."

-That felt very not good.

"Well as long as you aren't forgetting your studies, I suppose that's all right." Kotoko's dad told her, "But don't let him do anything you're not comfortable with-"

Naoki was very done with this uncomfortable conversation and he wasn't even a part of it. He couldn't find an excuse to leave the table though so he just continued to eat in silence, finding solemn company in Yuki.

Everything was annoying and it was all Kotoko's fault.


End file.
